Christmas at Maggie's
by iwouldntchangeaday
Summary: Just your classic cute Christmas fic. Takes places at Mama Scully's Residence. Will Mulder and Scully finally tell each other those three little words?
1. Christmas at Maggie's

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do i profit from these stories. They are purely for fun. All rights belong to Chris Carter, FOX and others who i cannot remember at this moment.**

December _23, 1998_

 _Hoover Building_

 _Washington, D.C._

Snapping her laptop shut with excessive force, Scully groaned indignantly.

"What?" Mulder glanced up from the floor, where he had been reorganizing files all day. There were still folders upon folders that were scattering the floor.

"I'm done with all of the paperwork for this quarter. I'm gonna head home..." Skinner had demanded that they finish up and turn in everything that was needed legally for the cases that they'd investigated in the past few months. Scully had been in charge of all of the paperwork and Mulder volunteered to find all of the files that they needed.

"Oh, okay. Sure, Scully..." Mulder set a stack of files on the desk and avoided making eye contact.

She jerked her coat on aggressively. Things had been really tense and awkward between them for quite some time now. Ever since Diana. _Diana_. She shivered at the thought of the vile woman. Neither of them had made any attempt since then to talk it out or try and resolve anything. To be honest, she was suffocating. His presence constantly took up all of the space in the office. She needed to get of there.

She was just about to let herself breathe again when Mulder called for her.

"Hey, Scully?" His words stopped her dead in her tracks. Her hand grabbing onto the door frame, she turned around slowly. His voice sounded timid, almost afraid. That worried her. She wasn't sure what he was about to say. "Uhm, I know things have been…" He was trying to find the right word. "... weird between us lately. And I know that it's almost all my fault… I was hoping that maybe we could talk… later…" He was stuttering now and he knew it. It couldn't be helped; she just made him so damn nervous _all_ the time.

Scully exhaled through her nose, all of her apprehension going with it. "Oh," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh, I'm supposed to go to my mom's tonight. I'm staying with her for Christmas…" This was the first time he'd mentioned anything about what happened and God, did she wish that she wasn't busy tonight. All she wanted was for things to go back to normal between them. Well, maybe not _normal._ As much as she didnt want to admit it, watching him with Diana that day when she saw them holding hands, something in her broke. She loves him. She knows that. But she couldn't tell him. She would die before she ruined her friendship with him. Without him, there was no her.

She watched as the nervous smile dissipated at her words. "Oh, yeah. Okay. So, I guess I'll just see you when you get back then…"

His reaction caused her to click her tongue, on the verge of saying something. She knows how his Christmas is going to go. He'll spend it by himself. His own mother probably won't even bother calling him. That thought propelled her into making her decision. Maybe this would fix their current stalemate. "Mulder, do you want to come with me?" She leaned her hip against the doorframe and crossed one leg in front of the other.

Mulder sputtered, clearly in shock of what she had just asked him. "Wh- what?"

She quirked her eyebrow. "Do you want to come with me?" Now was not the time to cool her cool and let him See how nervous she was.

"To your mother's?" He shrilled. Mulder had his panic face on and God help him if he didn't look absolutely adorable.

With a one-sided smirk, Scully answered him in humor. "No, Mulder. To outer space." After a beat of silence, during which he had the guts to blush at her comment, she added, "Yes, to my mother's."

Another beat of silence.

Taking his silence as a forced answer, Scully thought she'd just make the decision for him. She wanted him there, so he was going to be there. She couldn't help but hope this situation she was about to get them into might be the turning point in their relationship. She wanted him. God, did she ever. But did he want her? She resolved to use the cheerful holiday as an opportunity to finally find out. Okay, Mulder. I'll pick you up at eight? That should give you enough time to pack."

Before he could respond, she grabbed her bag and headed out of the office. He accepted his own resignation with a heavy sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with her… because he did. There was only one thing holding him back: Bill. Scully's brother absolutely hated his guts and Milder didn't want to ruin anyone's Christmas by provoking him with his presence. Although, Scully didn't really leave him much choice, he supposed. Then, a thought popped into his mind. _What if he could use this time outside of work with her to show her how much he loved Her? Maybe, if he was lucky, she loved him, too. His excitement was renewed. This was their chance to smooth over the damage that Diana had caused between them._

 _December 23, 1998_

 _Mulder's Apartment_

 _Alexandria, Washington D.C._

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Mulder?" Scully called from the other side of the door. She came over earlier than he expected her to because she knew he was going to try and get out of going. He didn't want to see Bill.

From somewhere inside the apartment she heard him call back to her, telling her to use her key.

As soon as she got into the apartment, she was shocked by the sight that greeted her. Fox Mulder was actually packing his bag. Unprovoked. It was a damn near miracle.

"Hey, Scully." Mulder said absentmindedly as he zipped up his suitcase. "I'm almost ready to go. Make yourself at home. I just need to grab some shoes."

She decided not to say something about her surprise and just keep it to herself. He seemed like he wanted to go. That was good enough for her. She wasn't going to question it. "Uh, yeah. Sure," she stumbled. "Take your time. I came early. Mom isn't expecting us for another two hours so don't rush…"

"Okay." Mulder grinned at her. "Just give me ten minutes and then we can go."

§§§

 _Crack._ "So, Scully." _Crack._ Mulder spoke in between sunflower seeds. "Who's all going," _Crack._ "...to be staying over at your mom's for Christmas?" _Crack._ He briefly glanced over at the passenger seat at a red light after she didn't answer him. When he turned towards her, he realized she was staring at him with glossy eyes. "Yo, Scully?"

That seemed to pull her out of wherever she was. "Sorry, what? Did you say something?" Scully flushed. She'd been caught in the middle of a fantasy. Well, not really. His obsession with sunflower seeds had her curious. Not as to why he chews them, but more like _what else_ does he like to do with that oral fixation of his. It's not the first time she's thought about this, but she's usually just a hell of a lot better at hiding it.

Mulder grinned at her, silently taking note of the subtle flush of color that spotted her cheeks and collarbone. "I asked who was staying over for Christmas… besides us."

"Oh, uhm … it's gonna be a full house. Charlie and his family. Bill and his family. And Melissa."

"Are you sure it's okay with your mom that I'm coming? That's a lot of people for one roof, Scully." Mulder turned onto Maggie's street and parked in front of her house.

She opened the door, swinging both feet out onto the ground. Turning back to look at him, she said, "Mulder, my mom has been begging me to bring you to a holiday for years. She'll be ecstatic when she sees that you're going to stay." She smiled tenderly at him. "C'mon. It'll be fun. I promise. And I'll protect you from Bill, too. Don't worry about him."

 **A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back. I'm doing a small multichapter Christmas holiday story in honor of it just being Christmas last week. Also, just a note but in this fic, Melissa is still alive.**

 **Don't worry, there will also be an update for 'Second Chances' coming soon as well. Keep an eye out. Hope you guys enjoy (:**


	2. Charlie's Home

**A/N: sooo, the xfiles season premiere was tonight. The episode was really good… right up until the end. Now I'm fuming. Here's some honest to God msr fluff to help you struggle through your pain and trauma if you watched the episode tonight. I hope that CSM was lying about what he said because if he was telling the truth I don't know if i can get over it and manage to ever watch the show again. I'll be updating Second Chances as well within the next few days. Happy mourning over the season premiere.**

§§§

When Maggie opened the door to greet her daughter, an unmistakable happy smile crossed her features at the surprise that was standing before her. Her Dana had finally managed to ask Fox to come spend a holiday with them. She'd been asking her youngest daughter to bring her 'man' with her to family functions ever since she met the boy. After seeing the care and dedication that Fox had for her daughter when she was missing left her speechless. She knew deep down in her heart that he loved her daughter more than his own life was worth.

"Fox!" She squealed. "I'm so glad you're here! Dana didn't tell me you were coming!"

Mulder smiled bashfully and accepted her eager hug. "Hi, Mrs. Scully."

"No, no. None of that now." She chastised him as she guided them into the entryway and took their coats. "Call me mom, Fox."

With his best panic face showing, Mulder glanced at Scully for help. Coming to his rescue, Scully quickly intervened. "Oh, mom. We aren't together," she explained. "We're not… he's not…" She was having trouble speaking.

"Oh, hush it, Dana." Maggie glanced between the blushing pair. "I don't care that you aren't together. I think of Fox like a son. I want him to call me mom." She looked at him pointedly. "Call me mom. Please."

Beyond stunned, Mulder couldn't help but smile nervously at the aging woman. He didn't even know how to process what he had just been told. "Okay…," he stuttered nervously. "...mom…" He gave her his signature lopsided grin.

Scully bit her lip nervously and raised her eyebrows at her mother. She was trying to get the message across: _What do you think you're doing! Stop making this uncomfortable!_ Her mom rolled her eyes at her. Mulder missed their brief silent conversation entirely… thank goodness.

"So, mom…" Scully started, trying to change the subject. "Is anyone else here yet?"

"Just Melissa." Maggie smiled. "Charlie's will be here soon and Bill should be here in the morning."

Before either of them had the chance to answer her, Melissa came bursting into the living room. "Danes!" She screeched as she came rushing up to her sister. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Hey, Miss..." Scully wrapped her arms around her sister's taller frame.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Melissa caught sight of her man standing in between her sister and her mother. "Oh ooh, so you finally decided to bring your man candy to meet the family, huh?"

"Missy?"

"What?"

"Shut up."

Melissa giggled. "Oh, come off it, Danes. I won't embarrass you _too bad_." She turned towards Mulder. "It's nice to see you again, Mulder."

"Hi, Melissa." He smiled politely, but not without a hint of nervousness. He wanted to get along with as many Scullys as he possibly could.

§§§

Dinner came and went without a hitch. Maggie only mentioned marriage and family life once each. The effects of which landed on Scully. She hadn't told anyone about the complications that resulted from her abduction and her cancer. Mulder must have taken notice of the slight dip in her smile because the next thing she knew, his hand had found his way to hers underneath the table. With their fingers intertwined, Scully felt strengthened enough to keep carrying on the conversation without a beat.

"So," Melissa began, swirling her wine around in her glass. She looked up at Mulder and Scully from her laid out position on the couch. They were seated around the living room now. Mulder and Scully were seated on the loveseat, while Maggie was in the rocking chair. "How's the sex?"

Mulder choked on his beer.

Maggie started chuckling.

Scully narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Melissa..." she began to chastise her sister for her lack of tact.

"Oh, lighten up." Melissa interrupted her, knowing her sister and what she was about to say.

 _Knock. Knock._

Scully set her own glass of wine down with anticipation. She hadn't seen her brother Charlie since before she started working with Mulder. Around the same time that she was assigned to the X-Files, he went off and joined the Peace Corps. The few times that he was able to come home and visit, she was out of town, working on a case. She was beyond excited to see him and to introduce him to Mulder. God, she just knew that he would love him.

"Hello?" Charlie called as he took off his coat and shut the door behind his wife, Michelle, his son, and his twin little girls. They were about four now, while his son was seven.

Scully jumped up and turned towards her favorite little brother. "Charlie!"

"Hey, sis!" he smiled.

She would have given him a hug if he hadn't been standing behind his children.

"Auntie Dana!" The small, brown-haired, freckled boy exclaimed, lifting his arms.

"Hi, Peter," Scully smiled down at her nephew, reaching to pick him up and set him on her hip. "How are you guys?" She turned her attention towards Michelle and Charlie.

"Oh, we're doing great!" Michelle chirped in her classic, southern accent. She brushed a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear with a genuine smile.

Scully glanced down at the two girls. They looked exactly alike with their shy grins and they're strawberry blonde curls. She hadn't met the girls yet. For the past three years, Charlie and his family had been living in Germany. She got down to her knees and looks at the two little girls. "Hi, there." She crooned with a smile. "I'm your Auntie Dana."

The girls both looked at her cautiously. One of them, deciding that it was okay to trust the new, red headed woman, stepped towards her and wrapped her chubby little arms around her neck. Scully blinked back the tears of sadness at knowing she would never have a cute little chubby baby of her own and tried to focus on the one in her arms. She had that classic baby smell still, she noticed as she wrapped her arms around the girl's frame and picked her up, with her hand cradling the back of the girls head. She subconsciously swayed side to side as she held her.

"That's Abby." Michelle piped in, not noticing Scully's reaction. "And this one here," she patted the other little girl's head. "Is Bella."

Margaret and Melissa approached the scene now that Scully had met her nieces. They said hello to everyone, while Scully continued to sway with Abby in her arms. The girl must have taken a strong immediate liking to her because she was now resting her head on top of Scully's shoulder, with her face buried in Scully's neck.

Mulder observed the whole thing from his position a few feet away. He was leaning back against the couch, waiting for everyone to finish greeting each other. To be honest, he felt a bit awkward. He wasn't a part of this family. Not really. Even though he was friends with Scully, and Margaret asked him to call her mom. He'd never really been a part of a family like this.

And his heart broke watching Scully bond with Charlie's daughter. He knew that she most likely wouldn't be able to have any of her own, and that killed him. There were so many nights that he stayed up daydreaming about what Scully would be like as a mom. She had so much love and loyalty in her heart; it was just waiting for a person to give it to. Sometimes, if he let himself, Mulder would even imagine what it would be like for them to have a child, _together._ What would it be like if they were a family? If Scully loved him? What would their son or daughter look like? In his mind, they would have a daughter with wavy light red hair and a son who had darker dirty blonde hair that would turn more brown as he got older, just like Mulder's did when he was little. He shook his head. Now was not the time to think about any of that stuff. He was here, with the Scully's. He wasn't going to spend the holidays alone. He was going to be with the woman he loved, even if it wasn't exactly in the way that he wished to be with her. Little did he know, Scully was standing not ten feet away from him, thinking the same things.

§§§

Everyone was laid back out on the couch later that night. The kids had long since gone to bed. The adults were now watching Miracle of 34th Street. They were all in the same seating arrangements as before, save for Melissa, who was forced to sit upright and share the large three-seater couch with Charlie and Michelle.

It was a little past ten when Maggie finally turned off the tv and stood up. "Alright, you guys, I'm going off to bed? Are you all going to stay up later? Bill will be here at around eight in the morning, I think."

"We're gonna head up to bed, too." Charlie tapped his wife on the nose in order to wake her so she could go up with him.

"Mom, what about Fox and Dana?" Melissa chirped up as they started to make their way towards the stairs.

The four of them looked back at the smaller couch. Maggie grinned. "Leave 'em. They look comfy."

"Mom, what are you planning? They aren't together…" Charlie said with skepticism. He glanced back over at the couch again. They _did_ look awfully comfortable. Apparently they had fallen asleep sometime during the movie and were now tightly cuddled into each other. They were half laying, half sitting on the loveseat, with Scully's head and right hand resting on Mulder's chest. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her in place while they slept.

"Just leave them be. They'll figure it out in their own time. Maybe sooner if I have anything to do with it."

"What are you talking about? Figure what out?" Charlie was confused.

Melissa turned to her brother in order to explain to him what was entirely obvious to everyone else. "They love each other. They are _in_ love with each other…. Have been since they first started working together. They're just too shy to admit it. And a lot of things have happened since then. They'll get it right, eventually."

Charlie took one last look at his big sister. She seemed… happier… with Mulder around. At least so far. And if his sister was happy, he was happy. Besides that, he was growing kind of fond of Mulder anyhow.


	3. Awkward Times

_§§§_

 _December 24, 1998_

 _Maggie Scully's House_

The first thing that Scully noticed when she began to wake up as that whatever pillow she was using was _really_ warm. She didn't remember going to bed last night. Trying to take in and identify her surroundings before she bothered to open her eyes, Scully could hear and feel three things: the ticking of a grandfather clock, the hum of a coffee machine, and the feel of a hand drawing slow circles along her hip. She fell asleep in the living room, she deduced. But with who? Mulder?

She cracked one eye open. The only things that she could see were chest hair and couch cushions. Lifting her head up carefully, she realized that she and Mulder had fallen asleep on the loveseat. How either of them managed to sleep through the night on that tiny thing, she'll never know. But now… now Mulder was curled up on the inside of the couch, facing her. He had his hands inside her shirt and around her waist, fingers resting on bare skin. Scully had one of her legs sandwiched between his two. The other one was hitched up over his hip. Apparently, resting her head on his tee shirt wasn't enough for her because she had it wound up over thus shoulders and pecks, her face resting happily on his sleep warm skin.

The small amount of light that filtered through the room suggested that the sun had not yet risen; Scully laid her head back down on his chest, her fingers winding through sparse c chestnut colored chest hair. Humming contently, Scully drifted back off to sleep.

§§§

The next time that Scully woke up, it was not due to warm skin against her cheek, even though that thing was still there, but rather it was due to a long string of expletives that could only come from one person: Bill.

Scully opened her eyes and looks up at the back of the couch, there stood her older brother, Bill. With his hands on his hips, Scully could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.

Nimbly removing one finger, then two, then three fingers from Mulder's bare waist, Scully attempted to get up without waking him. She knew he didn't get much sleep. As she was trying to lift her left leg from his hip, Mulder tightened his grip on her in his sleep, pulling her closer. He snuggled his face into her hair and breathed deeply, settling back down.

Scully looked from Mulder to her brother and raised her finger to her lips. Bill took no cue from her gesture and instead rudely barked, "What the hell is this, Dana?"

Mulder shifted again.

Thankfully, Maggie stepped into the room, washcloth in hand, and an apron around her waist. "William," she barked disapprovingly at him.

Glancing between the three of them, Bill reluctantly followed his mother into the kitchen.

While she would love to do nothing more than bury her face back into his chest and melt into him, Scully knew that they had to get up. There was no need to piss Bill off any more than they already had.

Work out thinking, she gave in to herself and leaned in to kiss the hollow of his throat. He sighed in response, flexing his hands against her spine. She shivered. "Mulder,"she spoke softly, letting her left hand come up to cup his cheek. "Mulder it's time to get up now."

"Hmm" He grumbled, slowly coming back into consciousness.

"We fell asleep on the couch, Mulder."

Nothing.

"Mulder, Bill is here."

His eyes shot wide open. "What?" Mulder was fully awake now.

"I said that Bill is here." She took her hand away from his face. "Bill is here and your hands are up my shirt."

Mulder blinked in confusion, before realizing where his hands were. He removed them quickly, as if he'd been burned by fire.

Scully furrowed her brow at his reaction. It hurt her a little bit that he reacted that way. It was as if he didn't want to touch her. She hoped that it was just because Bill was here.

Mulder looked down at their entangled legs and them looked back at her. Her face was too close to him. Waking up next to her, with his hands on her warm skin, her leg resting intimately over his body… it all ignited something within him that he knew shouldn't act on right now. He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath, but he definitely shouldn't be feeling as good as he was when she was this close, when they were on her mother's couch, when Bill was in the vicinity. Plus, he still didn't know how she felt.

It was too late though. Unfortunately, while he was trying to calm himself down, Scully had moved her leg off of his and accidentally brushed against his groin. Now, she was looking up at him with wide doe eyes.

"Mulder?" She implored in disbelief.

Before he could reply, Margaret's voice travelled through the house. She was announcing breakfast.

"Uhm," Mulder stated awkwardly. "We should probably get up before Bill comes back..."

Scully began to rise off of the couch and walk away. She was sure to give him a look that told him they would discuss it later.

He swallowed with a gulp. Mulder definitely got the message and was now even more terrified than before. Reluctantly following her up the stairs, Mulder's anxiety level kept rising with every second that passed.

As soon as they got up the stairs and found their bags residing in Scully's old childhood bedroom, Mulder's resolve broke. "Hey, Scully… about- uh- what just happened..."

"Mulder, shh," Scully chided. "Just forget about it, okay?"

Mulder was stunned. Forget about it? She really just wanted to forget about it? He didn't know what to think.

"Its okay, Mulder. You were asleep. We were both asleep. It's fine." Originally, Scully had wanted to talk to him about it. She wanted to figure out how he felt but somewhere along the way, between the couch and their descent up the stairs, she lost her confidence. What if he didn't love her? What if she brought it up and it ruined their friendship? What if she lost him?

They both let the awkward silence filter into the moment and settle upon them like concrete.

After walking silently down into the kitchen, their awkwardness was interrupted by Maggie's voice. "Good morning!" She smiled giddily over at the pair. "Sleep well?," she asked, making sure to note the slight reddening of Mulder's ears. She had spotted them on the couch when she woke up a few hours ago. They looked like they belonged together.

Instead of answering, Scully just bashfully tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and reached out for a plate. Just then a woman walked into the room with a toddler on her hip. "Dana!" The tall, blonde woman exclaimed happily.

"Hi, Tara," Scully smiled genuinely Bill's wife stepped in for a hug.

As she squeezed her sister in law 'hello,' Tara whispered into Scully's ear. "Don't worry. Mom and I are going to keep Bill under control. You and your man candy can keep snuggling away."

Scully chuckled slightly and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Nice to see you too," she replied. After kissing baby Matthew and smiling at his chubby little two year old grin, Scully set her plate down. Turning towards her brother, she greeted him with as much affection as she could muster. His actions earlier still had her pissed. "Hi, Bill."

Instead of a hug, he just merely smiled falsely at her, his eyes betraying his calm exterior. He was not happy about what happened earlier either, but for entirely different reasons, she was sure.

§§§

Unfortunately, Bill spent the entirety of breakfast glaring across the table between Scully and Mulder. Mulder kept squirming in his seat, the attention making him uncomfortable. Scully just glared right on back at him, waiting for him to give up and back down.

"William, Dana," Maggie finally scolded the two of them. "Stand down, both of you. There will be no fighting at my table."

Bill dropped his eyes first, conceding to Scully for the time being. With a slight smirk, Scully turned towards Mulder and hooked her her pinky with Mulder's.

He looked over at her gratefully for the sweet gesture, wondering for the billionth time if maybe she loved him too.

§§§

A distinct light humming sound distracted Mulder's attention away from the conversation that he was having in the living room with Melissa and Charlie. Scully had disappeared about twenty minutes ago and Mulder hadn't seen her since. Curiosity got the better of him as he excused himself from the couch and went towards the humming.

Peeking his head around to look into the kitchen, he saw something that melted his heart. Scully was swaying around the kitchen floor with Abby sprawled out against her chest. The baby was resting happily with her thumb in her mouth, while Scully hummed something light and airy and brushed the baby's hair soothingly away from her face. She was barefoot as she moved her feet to the sound of an unknown melody.

Resting against the door frame, Mulder wondered whether or not he should leave. He didn't know if she would be embarrassed by him seeing her this way- this maternal. His decision was made for him when she caught his figure out of the corner of her eye as she turned around. "Hi," she spoke shyly.

"Hi." Deciding to take a chance, knowing that it would be bittersweet, Mulder complimented her. "Kids look good on you, Scully..."

Her eyes darted up to meet his. "What?" She stumbled.

Mulder tried again. "You're going to be a great mom."

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she squeezed the baby closer. "Mulder… you know that I probably can't-"

"No, no, no." He interrupted her. "There's nothing I believe more than that you _will_ be a mother, Scully." He took a step forward and brushed away the lone tear that fell. She leaned into his touch as her chin quivered slightly. He bent down to kiss her forehead chastely and then looked at her expression.

Her eyes were wide and wet, deep as the blue ocean. She was looking for something in his gaze, anything that would tell her what she needed to know. She found it.

He had a tenderness in his eyes that she had never quite seen before. It was endearing and complicated. It was sad and sympathetic. As he glance back and forth between her eyes and her lips, she took his initiative and pushed her face closer to his. She could taste his breath on her tongue as he slowly inched closer….

A clatter from their left side startled them apart. "Oh, my God! I'm sorry!"

They yanked away from each other quickly, the two of them blushing profusely, too embarrassed to look into each other's eyes.

Tara looked between the two of them and at the baby that Scully was holding. She noticed the tear tracks under Scully's eyes and wondered what had happened. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I didn't mean to interrupt." Pointing towards the door, she continued to babble. "I'll just go out this way. Carry on." She left in a hurry.

It made no difference, however. The commotion had woken up Abby prematurely. "I'm gonna go take her upstairs and try to get her back to sleep," Scully told Mulder over the baby's crying, not daring to look up into his eyes for fear of what she might or might not see. Regret. Longing. Disgust. Love.

Mulder watched her as she walked away. He was determined to put an end to their stalemate while they were here. He refused to go back home after the holiday and let them fall back into the same rhythm of distraction and preoccupation. He noticed the way she looked up at him. He had watched as she made up her mind and leaned into him. She wanted this too. He was sure of it.


	4. Christmas Eve

As everyone was piling out of their cars later that night, Scully finally chanced a look at Mulder. He had offered to go to evening mass with them since it was Christmas Eve and Scully couldn't have been more shocked. She hadn't looked at him since the incident in the kitchen earlier, partially because she was embarrassed about her actions and partially because she knew his eyes had been focused on her all night. What he had said to her this morning, well it had left her speechless to say the least. Was he trying to imply something by his comments? Or did he just want his 'friend' to be happy? Shaking her head as if to try and get rid of her thoughts, Scully chided herself for what she was thinking and walked up to the front door. Everyone else trailed after her. It wasn't as if she could have a baby, even if she and Mulder were together. To be honest, the only way she could imagine the babies that would never be was by pretending that they would be Mulder's too. Scully sighed and continued to unlock the door. After pushing it open, a voice stopped her from moving inside.

"Hey, Scully?" Mulder called from the back of the group. He waited until half of the people had filtered inside before continuing his request. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, Mulder..." Scully replied warily. She was scared about what he was going to say. Surely she had stepped too far this morning and he was going to tell her so. Ignoring the panicked angry glance of Bill as he walked by her, Scully shut the front door after the last person had walked inside and then moved to sit over on the swinging chair on the right side of the covered porch.

Hesitantly taking a seat next to her, Mulder turned his head and realized how close he was. He should have sat further away because now he was going to have a hard time concentrating. How was he supposed to form coherent thoughts when her lips were so close to his own? "I- I- uhh," he lost control over his words.

"Mulder? It's okay." She put her hand delicately on his forearm for support. "What is it?"

Her touch made his skin burn. Mulder wasn't sure how much longer he could handle not having her as his own. "Scully." He swallowed heavily. "Don't touch me."

"Wh- Why?" Scully stumbled.

"Because- because..." He lost control of his words when Scully took her hand off of him delicately, running her finger-tips down his arm in the process. It broke Mulder's resolve. He couldn't handle it anymore. Grabbing the hand that she had just taken off of him, Mulder yanked her body forward and onto her feet.

"Mulder, what the hell?"

Ignoring her outburst for the moment, Mulder continued to drag her down the stairs. He moved frantically around to the side of the house.

"Mulder, where are we goi-" Scully's words were cut short and pulled from her lungs with a huff as she found herself pushed up against the side of the house. His arms were gripping her waist harshly. She could see the restrain in his eyes struggling for control over his emotions. Her legs felt like jello because of his actions. Suddenly needing him closer, she put her hands over his and squeezed them lightly. "Mulder," she whispered.

That was all the convincing he needed. Mulder moved towards her slowly, almost afraid of what was about to happen now that they had both had a brief chance to breathe. He didn't want to scare her off.

"Mulder," she begged again, letting her hand run up his arms to grip his elbows. He was moving too slow.

He complied, leaning in so that they could feel each other's breath.

Scully moved her hands again from his elbows up to his cheeks. She moved in almost all the way, but wanted him to be the one to make the final push. She waited a beat or two before speaking one last final thing, choosing to indulge her senses in the wonder that was having him so close to her. Whispering three little words, Scully hoped that she wasn't about to ruin what was about to happen. "I love you."

The grin that broke out over Mulder's face was immediately mirrored by Scully. He let out a relieved sigh, allowing himself to linger back just a little bit longer. Their noses brushed against each other in a happy discord.

Her hands moved up to thread themselves into his hair. "Mulder," she whispered just before Mulder's lips hesitantly met hers. Letting her breath out with a sigh, Scully melted into his embrace.

They kissed slowly, mapping each other out with soft touches and murmured appreciation. Mulder groaned as he felt her tongue grade against his lip lightly. His blood ran hot at her teasing. Moving his hands down to Scully's ass, he quickly yanked her thighs upward,bringing her up to his height and allowing him to press against her more fully.

His move caught her by surprise and she squealed as he moved her to a more convenient position.

Mulder took her gasp as an opportunity and slipped his tongue into her mouth. The touch of his tongue on hers inside her mouth set off a new fire in both of them.

With renewed vigor, their kisses began to become frantic, as did their bodies. Scully wrapped her legs tightly around his back and moaned into his mouth when she felt his desire for her press into her inner thigh. This could get very out of hand very quickly but Scully didn't care. She pulled on the ends of his hair with her fingers and was rewarded by Mulder moving one of his hands up to feel her breast, leaving the other one under her ass just in case she started to slip. _Christ, her boobs are perfect_ , he thought. Mulder pressed her further into the wall behind her.

As delicious as having his hands on her was, Scully needed more. She was so close. Having Mulder surround her like this was intoxicating. She had been waiting for this for so long. Scully knew she just needed a little push. Making a bold move, she reached down and grasped the hand that was on her ass. Bringing it up slowly, Scully let his fingers blaze a trail of fire along her skin.

She surprised Mulder when she took his hand up higher than her breasts. Instead, she pushed his hand into her hair, making sure that his palm was resting against the side of her scalp right behind her ear. His fingers were intertwined behind locks of Titian hair and he wasn't sure what she quite wanted until he heard her beg desperately. "Please." She muttered against his lips and she slowly began to rock her center against his erection.

Utilizing his instincts, Mulder gave an experimental tug and was rewarded by a throaty moan and the tensing of her body.

"More," she whispered desperately from the brink of an orgasm.

He winded his hands in tighter.

She groaned in anticipation.

"Mulder? Dana? Are you guys still out here?" The sound of Missy's voice traveled over from the front of the house.

Huffing in frustration, Scully rested her head against Mulder's shoulder and let her legs drop down to the ground. Mulder took his hands out of her hair and pulled her blouse back down so it was straight. Taking a look at her, she definitely did not look innocent. Her lipstick was smeared. Her church clothes were wrinkled. Her hair was mussed quite a bit. He felt bad for being kind of proud for what he had done.

"We'll be right there, Miss!" Scully called back hoarsely. Looking back at Mulder, she cocked an eyebrow at his pants. "You might want to- uhm- take care of that… before we go back."

"Yeah. Yeah…." Mulder shook his head, closing his eyes and trying to forget about what glorious image was standing before him because it would only turn him on more.

"Mulder..."

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk about this..."

"Okay."

"Later."

"Okay." Mulder still couldn't get himself under control.

"I'm going to go talk to Missy. Are you staying here until.. It's less… noticeable?"

"Yep." He nodded, eyes still closed.

She began to move away with no more than a parting caress to the side of his jaw.

"Hey, Scully?" Mulder tried to get her attention so he could warn her about how she looked but she was already out of earshot. He cursed under his breath and leaned his back against the side of the house. That was the single most greatest experience of his entire life. Then it hit him. She said that she loved him. She loved him. He didn't imagine that… Did he?

Meanwhile, Scully was walking up to Missy. "Hey, Miss what's up?" She tilted her head sideways in suspicion. "Why do you look like the cheshire cat?"

Missy's smirk only grew wider. "Why do you look like you were just making out?"

"You saw?" Scully's face took on the resemblance if a tomato.

At this, Missy let out a guffaw. "No! But now you can't deny it!"

Now Scully was just plain suspicious.

Missy must have recognized the strange look on her sister's face because she explained herself further. "Dana. Honestly, you _look_ like you have been making out. Your clothes need to be pressed. You have sex hair. And your lipstick is everywhere."

Scully blanched. They must have been over there longer than she realized.

""Don't worry." Missy smiled. Everyone is in the kitchen getting dinner ready. I can distract them while you and Mulder go upstairs to clean yourselves up.

"Okay..." Scully turned around and went to grab Mulder. She found him resting up against the wall of the house with a stupid silly grin on his face. "Mulder?"

His head snapped towards her with embarrassment. "Yeah, Scully?"

"Come on." She held her hand out to him and tilted her head towards the house. "Missy said we can sneak inside."

Taking her hand, Mulder gave her a weird look. He wasn't used to the oddly shy and sweet tone that her voice had taken to.

"What?" She looked at him with amusement, "Forget to tell me something about how I look right now _before_ I went to talk to my sister?"

Mulder's ears turned red. "I tried to but you were too far away."

They arrived to the door and quietly snuck inside, though not without a knowing grin from Missy on their way in. Waiting until they got upstairs into Scully's old room, Scully turned back to look at him.

"Sc-" His words were cut off by surprise. All of the sudden, her body was on his. He wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her up and grunted. "Well, hi there."

"Hi." She clipped, trying to force down a smile.

"So what brings you up here?" He was toying with her now, letting his sense of humor take over.

"Easier to talk to you face to face."

"Oh, so that's what it is."

"Mulder?"

"Yes?"

"I mean what I said."

"I know."

"You know?"

"You just jumped me, Scully. Literally jumped on me."

"Right..."

"Hey, Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too."

The grin that spread across her face could have split the world in two.


	5. Love Me, Please

They spent an obscenely long time trying to fix themselves up so they would look presentable and like they hadn't been making out with each other. Half of that obscenely long time may or may not have been spent stealing longing glances at one another, but that wasn't important.

"Are you ready to head down?" Mulder looked over at Scully for the hundredth time since they entered her room.

She was busy trying to smooth her hair back down to an acceptable volume. "Almost."

"Hey, Scully?"

"Yes?" She still had her gaze focused on her reflection in the mirror.

"Where am I supposed to sleep tonight? We both fell asleep on the couch last night so I never had to ask..."

"I think mom had meant for you to sleep on the pull-out in the den."

Mulder tried to hide the disappointed reaction. "Oh."

Her hands stilled from brushing through her hair and she made eye contact with him in the mirror.

She noticed. Of course, she did.

"Relax."

"I am relaxed."

"Sure, you are." Scully turned around and crossed the five feet that separated them. Running her hands down his chest, she grabbed onto his hips and pulled him closer to her body. Silently walking her fingers back up his torso, she leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Do you really think I'm going to let you sleep all by yourself after what just happened… after what you said?"

Mulder gulped. Her breath was rushing across his earlobe with a wet warmth. He had to take a moment to convince himself not to react.

"Mulder, if you don't sneak up here after everyone is asleep, I'm going to be mad as hell."

He gulped again at her words.

Her hand boldly travelled back downwards with an intention that would make a schoolgirl blush. As she slowly cupped him, she gave a firm squeeze before letting go of him entirely and walking towards the door. "C'mon, cowboy. Let's go eat."

He followed her out into the hallway after calming himself down yet again, only one thought circulating through his mind: ' _She is going to be the death of me._ '

§§§

Walking into the kitchen, Scully and Mulder were confronted with all eyes on them. Bill as glaring. Tara looked like she wanted to interrogate Scully out of confused excitement. Charlie and Melissa were both smirking. Scully knew that this meant her sister had told Charlie.

"You took an awful long time up there 'washing up,' huh, sis?"

She responded with a pointed glare, which Bill Jr. also corroborated.

It only caused him to chuckle. "I'm only kidding." He threw his hands up in the air. "You guys are just friends… right?" Charlie raised his eyebrows. He knew that his big sister hated lying but at the same time didn't like talking about her personal life.

"Mulder is my partner," she responded truthfully with a look at Charlie that conveyed the message to shut up.

"Charlie," their mom called through as she walked into the room with the last plate of food to set on the table. "Leave your sister and Mulder alone. She has made it clear that they are not together."

Scully breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't quite ready to share anything about the new development yet. She wanted time to wrap her head around what just happened between them, what would happen in the future, and whether or not they were both on the same page. They didn't need onlookers to put pressure on them. Missy knowing about it was bad enough.

Taking a seat quietly at the table, Scully tried to hide her blush through the curtain of her hair. She needed to stop thinking about Mulder and what might or might not happen in the relative future. She couldn't do it though. She had an uncomfortable pressure between her legs and she couldn't stop the memory of his tongue in her mouth from repeating endlessly in her mind. Doing an uncomfortable squirm, she tried to be covert about her issue.

Mulder glanced over at her from his seat right next to her and took in the sight before him. It had been a _very_ long time since he had been involved with a woman, but he would never forget what that little wiggle meant. He smiled widely, realizing that he was probably the cause of it. He thought about maybe trying to do something to tease her and quickly decided to do it since she had been so direct before they came down the stairs and joined her family.

A warm pressure alerted Scully to the fact that there was now a hand on her knee. Following the hand to the arm, the arm to the shoulder, and the shoulder to the man, she gave a deer-in-headlights look to Mulder and instantly knew that she had been found out. He knew that she was having a hard time sitting still and calming herself down. As his hand slowly began to travel up her thigh, her eyes widened in panic, They were at the dinner table, surrounded by her family. It didn't matter that his hand was hidden by a tablecloth; she didn't think she could make it through without exploding and that couldn't happen- not when her family was right there.

"Mulder," she mouthed silently at him.

He smirked at her and leaned forward towards her ear. Right as his index made contact with her center, he whispered, "Karma is a bitch." Quickly retracting his hand away, Scully had to fight off a whimper at the loss of contact. What an asshole. Now she had to sit through all of dinner even hornier than before. But God, did it feel good. Giving him a icy glare, she vowed to get back at him for what he just did.

§§§

"Well, I think I'm gonna head up and take a shower." Mulder got up from his seat at the table and headed up the stairs.

Hastily getting up after him, Scully stumbled out an excuse to her family. "I'm, uhm, gonna go get ready for bed..." She thought she was out of the woods until she reached the stairs and heard Charlie joke after them.

"Hey, don't take too long up there, you two! I want to see and talk to you sometime tonight."

Scully blushed deep red and hid her face from Mulder's view as he briefly looked down from his place a few stairs in front of her.

"Charlie!" They heard her mother scold the poor man.

"What? I'm just trying to make sure that I get to visit with my sister."

Scully shook her head and continued going up the stairs. By the time she had gotten to the top of the landing and continued into the hallway, Mulder was just entering the bathroom with a fresh pair of pajamas. A devious smirk found its way onto her face. Waiting until she heard the shower turn on and the shower curtain move, Scully then moved to grab her own set of pajamas. Making her stealthily into the bathroom without signaling Mulder to her presence, she slowly got undressed, ignoring the shocks of nervousness that were coursing themselves through her body. This wasn't just a step, this was a fucking leap. A leap towards a "them," an "us." A relationship. One that was long overdue in her opinion. He had said that he loved her. That was all she needed. She got the confirmation that she needed. It was time to give her all to him and receive his all to her.

Pushing down all of the signals in her head that was telling her this was too fast, Scully whipped the curtain open and stepped in the shower behind him.

He turned around with a small yelp, his eyes bulging at what he saw before him. It was unexpected… but definitely was welcome.

Mulder's eyes travelled down and back up her figure, taking in every inch of her wet skin. His lingering gaze made Scully want him just that much more. When his eyes finally reached her face, she saw just how turned on he was.

"Can I-?"

She huffed an embarrassed laugh. "Mulder I just barged into your showered butt ass naked. Do you want a written invitation?" The tips of his ears turned red in response and Scully thought it was absolutely adorable. "C'mere, Mulder." Holding her hands out to him, she grabbed him by the tips of his fingers and brought his hands to rest on the bare skin of her hips.

His fingers flexed and molded around her hip bones, revelling in the feeling of being allowed to touch his partner this way. Her hands remained resting on top of his, waiting until he got comfortable.

Scully let out a relieved sigh when she felt his right hand travel up the curve of her waist, his thumb brushing against the underside of her breast. "Mulder," she breathed softly.

His eyes came up to look into hers, looking for any sign of regret or disapproval.

"Love me, please."


	6. Reassurance

Stepping out of the shower stall on wobbly legs, Scully looked around the bathroom and realized how ill-planned her little impulse idea had been. "Mulder," she spoke quietly. "There's only one towel in here." She frowned.

"Well, then we have to share." He couldn't manage to wipe the silly grin off of his face.

"Do you think anyone heard us?" Scully couldn't help the impending feeling of doom that had settled over her head. She was nervous. It wasn't like her to do something like this. Hell, to be honest she's only actually had sex with two other men and both times were a bust. But this, this was Mulder, she reminded herself. In her mother's house. Scully wasn't the type to act on an urge. True, Mulder had told her that he loved her and knew that she loved him. But they didn't _talk_ about it like she had always thought that they would. God, they made out on the side of _her mother's house_ on Christmas Eve right after church. She'd let him pin her up and told him to pull her hair. Those are things she's never done with anyone, let alone in the close vicinity of her family. And she had liked it. A hand under her chin drew her out of her downward spiral of thoughts.

"Hey?" Mulder asked her quietly. "Where'd you go?" She was starting to worry him. Out of the myriad of emotions he watched flit over her features, the ones that he was able to recognize made him nervous. He didn't want her to regret any of this.

Scully tucked her chin back toward her body and tilted her head down, avoiding Mulder's eyes. "Sorry, I just- I don't know… I'm overwhelmed. I don't know what to think."

"Scully, I hope you know that I'm not going anywhere. It's been hard to find time to talk in private since we've been here."

"When you asked me to come over and yesterday… What did you want to talk about?" Scully approached the subject with a careful weariness. She both hoped and dreaded that it would be about _her._

"I wanted to talk about the things have been between us lately. Before yesterday, you felt so far away. I know you don't like or trust Dian-"

Scully scoffed loudly. "Understatement of the year."

Mulder sat down on the bathroom counter so he could be a little closer to Scully's height. "Yeah, that much is definitely clear. And I can't help but blame myself. I let her come between us when I should have seen her motives a lot sooner. I should have stayed by your side the entire time and backed you up. I should have trusted your judgement instead of letting my history with her blind me to what she was trying to do to us, to the X-files."

Scully's chin quivered slightly at his words. She'd been waiting months for him to say exactly that. "Mulder-"

"C'mere, Scully." He reached out for her and opened his arms for her to step into. "Scully…" He began to stroke her back up and down. "You're the love of my life. There is no one else for me. There's only you. You're all I want. I never want you to forget that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll let me."

"Oh, God!" Scully choked out, burying her face in Mulder's fluffy hair. "You have no idea how I've longed to hear that, Mulder."

He squeezed her tighter. "I love you, Scully."

"I love you, too… so much." She pulled away from him slightly and leaned down to press a slow kiss to his lips. They savored each other for a few long moments before she pulled away again, choosing to lean their foreheads together, a familiar comfort that felt like it made their talk fina, like their relationship had come full-circle. "I hate to put a stop to all of this… but we should probably get dressed and head back downstairs before everyone gets even more suspicious than they already were."

"Yeah." He kissed her forehead before she had a chance to move completely away from him. "You're right. I don't need your brother to end my life just as it's really starting." He looked up just in time to catch her giving him a shy, bittersweet smile. He watched as she quickly slipped into her long-sleeve satin pajama set.

Giving him one last kiss, Scully caressed his cheek with her thumb, cupping his jaw with her hand. "I'll go out now to throw off suspicion. You take your time."

"Do you think they'll know?" Mulder couldn't help but be a little apprehensive. How was he supposed to face Scully's family now? After what they just did? After what they just admitted to each other?

Scully let out a nervous chuckle. "Missy will know straight away and will probably tell Charlie."

Mulder's face blanched.

"Don't worry. They'll both be happy about it. I'm sure."

"What about Bill? Tara? Your mom?"

Bill will be clueless. Tara will figure it out eventually. I'm actually not sure about mom but if she does she'll be happy about it, too. I mean, for Christ's sake, she already has you calling her mom." Running a hand through his hair, she reassured him again, "Don't worry about it."

"Okay," he nodded. "Okay, I'll meet you down there in a little bit." He let his hand dip down to her ass. Promptly ignoring her cocked eyebrow, he gave her butt a hard squeeze. "Ungh," he groaned, dropping his head against her belly. "God, I love your ass. I'm so glad I get to touch it now."

Scully smiled down at him. "So you've just been lusting after my ass all this time, huh?" she teased.

"Yup. That's definitely what I was doing." He pulled at the V of Scully's top in order to peak down at her breasts.

She batted his hands away half-heartedly. "Mulder, I'm going."

He huffed melodramatically, "Fine. It's a good thing I have an eidetic memory to replay all this for the rest of my life."

Grabbing his chin between her thumb and index finger, Scully pecked his lips. "If I have anything to do with it, you won't need memories, Mulder. You'll be reliving it daily."

"Oh ho ho… I like the sound of that, Scully."

"Shut up, Mulder, " she reprimanded him flippantly as she snuck out the door and tiptoed back through the hallway.


	7. Happiness is Hard to Hide

Truth be told, Missy didn't even need her intuition. As soon as Scully made it down the stairs and made eye contact with her sister, a guilty smile spread over her features immediately. She looked like the cat that ate the canary. Scully covered her mouth with the too-long sleeve of her pajama top. Thankfully, everyone else missed the look she gave. Coming to sit down next to Missy- she was sitting on the only couch that had two seats left- Scully attempted not to make eye contact.

Missy leaned over a few seconds after she sat down and whispered in her ear. "You could have left the afterglow in the bathroom."

If Scully had been drinking water, she would have choked. Instead, she just melted into the back of the couch, both dreading and anticipating Mulder's imminent arrival. She watched as Tara and Charlie tried to silently communicate with Missy from across the room. They were all sitting on the couch adjacent to Missy and Scully's… along with Bill, whom they were trying to keep clued-out of their intentions. Scully could tell that they were curious. She could also guess that they probably knew from her guilty expression and from the raised eyebrow that Charlie was giving her. Jesus, why couldn't she have just kept it cool?

Michelle and Maggie were sitting on the loveseat, oblivious to everything except the television and the children.

When Mulder finally meandered his way into the room, he looked no better than she did. Guilt. It was written all over his face. The other thing that was noticeable was his more relaxed demeanor. Great. He was going mellow because he got laid. There was no way the whole family wouldn't pick up on it, even though half of them could already guess at what they had been up to. It was painfully obvious now.

He came and sat down by her, but as close to the arm of the couch as possible. Scully felt like the whole room was staring at them intently- meaning Tara, Melissa, and Charlie. There was about an eight-inch gap between Mulder and Scully and it was clear that they were both leaning away from each other. Chancing a glance over at Missy, Scully was rewarded with yet another raised eyebrow. Scully decided that her only option was to focus on whatever movie was playing on the television and ignore her family, Mulder, and the liquid that was finally escaping out onto the inside of her thighs.

§§§

After the movie was over, Scully immediately volunteered to be the one to clean up the kitchen, that way her mother and everyone else could get the kids into bed and head to bed themselves. She would have done anything to get out of that tension-filled room. Between the curious glances of her family and having her body buzzing from being so close, yet so far, away from Mulder… the air felt unbreathable.

Mulder meandered in to help her a few minutes after she bolted. Apparently, he couldn't stand the tension either. He kept looking over at her periodically while she washed dishes. He began to dry them.

"Scully?"

"What?" she whispered back, not wanting to be overheard by her family.

He dropped his volume in response to her quietness, "Please, look at me."

"Mulder," she half-whined. "I can't."

"You're making me nervous, Scully."

"Mulder," she sighed, setting the bowl she was washing back into the sink. "I can't look at you because I don't know if I can restrain myself..."

"Restrain your- _oh_." Her statement sunk in. "Maybe we should keep our distance until we get back to DC then-"

"No!" Scully turned abruptly towards him with a slight panic.

Mulder couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. Leaning in closer, he brushed her hair back- ignoring the shiver that he saw rush down her body- and whispered in her ear, "So you still want me to..." He drifted off, not wanting anyone to accidentally overhear them.

"Yes." She pressed back into him. "Please."

He placed his hands on her hips, trying to keep her still. "Scully." He nosed his way through her hair and nudged her ear. "Later."

"Later," she compromised, a small hint of desperation… or maybe it was frustration… evident in her voice. Brushing a hand over the shorter brown hair on the side of his head, she pushed her butt into his thighs, effectively knocking him backward and away from her. "Later," she repeated, fixing her hair away from her eyes so she could continue with the dishes.

Mulder smirked and got back to work. Next to her was the only place he ever needed to be.

§§§

It wasn't until midnight that Scully heard her bedroom door open. Mulder slipped inside quietly, trying not to wake the rest of the family. They were all asleep just down the hall.

Sitting up on her knees, Scully waited for him to walk over to the bed. When he got close enough, Scully reached out and grabbed onto the collar of his tee-shirt. She pulled him closer to her, forcing him to crawl onto the bed as she leaned backward. Her mouth immediately found its way to his. Lying there, with him on top of her and their mouths dancing together, she knew she was home.

§§§

It was around seven thirty in the morning when Maggie came rambling up the stairs. Breakfast was ready and the kids had been up for nearly an hour, anxiously awaiting their presents. The only two people that weren't up, were her daughter and Mulder.

Funny thing was… Mulder wasn't on the pullout. The pullout hadn't even been set up last night. She hoped that he hadn't left without at least saying goodbye to her. She couldn't blame him if he did, though. From the very little that Dana has told her about his personal life and his family… the holidays must be hard for him.

Approaching her daughter's door, she slowly cracked it open, not wanting to startle her. She's been fairly jumpy since becoming an FBI agent, and from the holidays that she's spent with the family, Maggie is positive that she has frequent nightmares.

Nothing prepared her for what she saw on the other side of the doorway. Maggie gasped loudly, a hand coming to slap over her mouth so she didn't wake the sleeping pair in the bed. So this was where Mulder had gone off to…

There was her daughter... and Mulder… both sleeping with their faces toward her… both very, very naked… and both under the covers- _thank God_. Mulder was spooned up to her daughter, with his face buried in her neck and his hands… Maggie didn't want to know.

She shut the door with a quick skilled precision and leaned against the wall adjacent. Taking a few deep breaths, she contemplated her options. One, go in there and wake them up and face the awkwardness. Two, send someone else in… like Missy… or _Bill_. Maggie snickered under her breath at her own thought. Yeah, that would go well all right. Or there's always option three, open the door and throw one of the twins' stuffed animals at Dana's face. Now that would be amusing. She didn't know if she had the heart for it though. It was something she used to do to the kids once they started getting older and sleeping in more. Deciding on that plan of action, Maggie went to ask Charlie for one of the kids' stuffed animals.

Charlie was curious, naturally, when his mother asked him for a stuffed animal that didn't have hard eyes. When he asked her he definitely was not prepared for her answer of: "Dana and Mulder are naked and asleep so I'm going to throw it at them and run."

Only his mother.

Missy heard- of course she did- and gave her mother a sly smile. "Mom, you didn't notice last night but they were both walking around like Cheshire cats… you might want to bleach the back bathroom after we leave."

Charlie choked on his coffee.

Maggie's ears turned red. "Oh, Dana..." she muttered under her breath, moving to go get the stuffed animal. She was happy for them. She really was. They deserved to be happy together after everything that they've been through. That didn't mean that she's not going to be sanitizing the sheets on Dana's bed, as well as the shower apparently, after they are gone.

 **A/N: What do you think? Should I continue this story?**


	8. Oops

Scully was in the middle of having the nicest dream- think Mulder. Think naked. Think a small house on the beach- when something interrupted her sleep. Her eyes blinked open groggily, catching sight of the open door of her old bedroom. She was close enough to the edge of the bed to where she could see the ground below her. There was a small, colorful stuffed frog down there. _Mom,_ she thought to herself with a small smile. Her mother used to wake her up that way when she was a teenager. Scully snuggled down into her pillow and blinked slowly. Something tightened around her middle.

Everything came back all at once. Scully shot upright and practically fell off the side of the bed. Mulder.

He groaned next to her and reached his arm outward- searching for her, she realized. When his arm encountered her body in a different way than that of what he was sleepily expecting, he cracked open an eye. The grin that spread over his face made her notice that the sheet had fallen down around her. He was getting an eyeful of skin and tits.

Her mind flashed back to what had woken her up. That meant… Her mom… _Oh no._

"Mulder," she rasped sleepily, nudging his shoulder lightly.

"Hmm?" He grunted, closing his eyes and burrowing into her hip.

"Mulder… I think my mom knows."

"What?" His eyes opened to meet her gaze.

"I woke up because something hit me. And," she leaned over the side and picked up the frog. She could feel Mulder's eyes tracking every movement of her body. "It was this." She showed him the stuffed animal. "My mom used to throw them at me when I overslept."

"So..." He seemed to be a little slow on the uptake this morning. Everything about their situation was a first for him. It had been _so_ long.

"So, my mother has seen us sleeping in this bed Mulder. Naked."

"Okay," he spoke slowly. "So… she knows. Does that mean that I'm going to be murdered when I go downstairs?"

"I think you'll be fine. As long as Bill doesn't know…"

"Hey," he tried to get her attention.

She looked down at him, only to be pulled down by his arms. She was leaning over him now. He put a hand on the back of her head and nudged her down the last few inches.

Scully sighed as their lips met. This new feeling. She never wanted it to go away. She lost herself in his embrace. It wasn't until he snuck a hand down to grab her ass under the sheet that she finally came back to reality. Separating their lips with a pop, Scully spoke regretfully to him. "We should go downstairs."

He massaged her butt- _When did the other hand get down there, too?-_ as he hummed in acquiescence. "One more kiss, Scully."

Her smile was wide when she leaned back into him.

§§§

When they finally made their way downstairs, Scully felt like- once again- the whole room had their eyes on her. She felt beyond guilty for having sex in her mother's house- twice. Let alone, the fact that she had snuck around to do it. The truth of the matter was that only one more person knew. She was thankful for that. Bill Jr. remained oblivious and would hopefully stay that way for a _long, long_ time. She hoped that he'd stay that way until she had those two and a half kids and the picket fence. Only _then,_ would he finally notice.

The thought was like a knife to the heart, as she remembered the bitter truth about her fertility. She was still trying to get used to the fact that she would never bear a child of her own. She had options. Of course, she had options. She would probably use them, too. In her mind, however, she just couldn't let go of the idea that somewhere in her future, she would be able to feel her child growing inside of her, watch her body change, raise a baby that was the miniature version of her- and if she were completely honest- Mulder. It wouldn't be the same as adopting a child.

She snapped herself out of it. Now was not the time to pity herself and wish for things that she couldn't have. For goodness sakes, she was only on day two of the new aspects to her friendship- relationship?- with Mulder. It should be ridiculous to even consider things like that at this point… but it didn't _feel_ ridiculous at all. She shook her head and went to grab some coffee.

"Sleep well?" Her mother asked her nonchalantly as she passed by the coffee machine on her way to pull something out of the oven.

Scully avoided eye contact. "Mom," she began, but Maggie didn't let her finish.

"I'm happy for you, Dana. This has been a long time coming."

Scully felt her eyebrow raise. "Excuse me?"

Maggie waved a hand in the air flippantly. "We've all known that you two would end up together. Heck, I even knew when I met Fox for the first time. The bond that you two share… the care that you have for one another... " She put a hand on her daughter's cheek, trying to redirect her line of sight. "I'd be very happy if Fox were to be a permanent part of this family. He already has been for a long time… now it's just in a better way."

"Thank you, mom." Scully leaned into her mother's hand.

"He's told you that he loves you, yes?" Maggie smiled.

Scully couldn't help the shy, bashful grin that swept over her features. "Yes, he has."

"And you've told him the same?"

"Yes, mom." Scully rolled her eyes.

"Good." Maggie's smile turned into a smirk.

"I'm gonna need you to clean the back shower for me before you leave." The hand that was on Scully's face patted her cheek a few times as she spoke. Maggie turned around and left without another word.

When Mulder walked into the kitchen to grab his cup of morning coffee, he found Scully wide-eyed, holding her cup of coffee halfway to her face, and staring off into space as Maggie's form retreated out the other doorway toward the living room.

"Scully?"

He got no response.

"Scully?" He approached her carefully. Waving a hand in front of her face, he tried again. "Hello? Scully?"

Her face snapped toward his. "Oh, my God! Mulder! She _knows._ "

Mulder chuckled. "Yeah, we've been over tha-"

"No." She shook her head at him stubbornly. "She _knows._ " Mulder's puzzled look prompted her to ex[and on her vague statement. Dropping her voice down to a hushed tone, she continued. "About yesterday… the shower… she _knows._ "

Mulder's face blanched.

" _How could she possibly know?_ " Scully was beyond confused, not to mention mortified.

Before either of them could speak again, Maggie's voice rung out throughout the house. It was time for presents.


	9. No Present?

**A/N: kay, so _finally!..._ here's the right story for this chapter (lol) messed it up a bit (or a lot) earlier when I updated my other story. Anywho, a reviewer asked for some more emotion for this chapter… so enjoy lol**

As everyone sat around the tree, Scully smiled at the look her mother had on her face. It was an expression that exuded complete contentedness. She had an inkling that her mom would pray about thankfulness at breakfast. Her attention refocused over Mulder, who was sitting next to her. He was opening her present. It wasn't much, but she thought that he would enjoy it.

"Thank you, Scully," Mulder smiled.

"I thought you might enjoy it..." Scully chewed on her lip. She had picked out a VHS version of "Bride of the Monster," knowing how much Mulder loved Ed Wood. That was _before._ Now, if she were to go out and buy something for him, she would pick out something completely different. It didn't matter, she reminded herself. That was then and this was now. There was only room to move forward from here.

"I've never seen this one actually," he stated with reverence. "Can we watch it when we get back to DC?"

She laughed. "Yeah, Mulder. We can do that." Her eyes moved back to the tree. "So which one's mine?" She tried to keep the anticipation out of her voice, but it was of no use.

Mulder's smile quickly dropped off quickly. "I, uh-" he stuttered nervously. "There isn't really a present that you unwrap… per se..." He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the ground. "It was more of an idea that I needed to talk to you about first..."

"Okay.." Scully noted slowly. "What did you want to talk about?" She was glad that her family's attentions were elsewhere at the moment. She didn't need their questioning stares to make things tenser.

"Can we talk about it in the kitchen or something?" His eyes flitted over to everyone else, a sign that he wanted more privacy.

"Sh-sure." Scully was slightly taken aback… What could he want to talk about? She got up slowly and held her hand out for him.

He took it gratefully and got up off the floor, as well.

Scully eyed her mother and mouthed to her that they would be back in a minute. She led him to the kitchen pantry and shut the door.

"The pantry, Scully?"

"What? No one's going to think to look for two grown adults in here."

"What if they think we're… doing stuff..." He was trying to ease the atmosphere with his poor, sarcastic, smart-ass humor.

She laughed anyway. It died in her throat, though, when he suddenly grabbed both of her hands in his and held them loosely between their bodies. Her eyes strained up to seek his.

"Scully," he began shakily. "Before I ask you this… I want you to know that you can say no. You can absolutely say no. If it's too much… if you've changed your mind… I don't want you to say yes just to shut me up-"

"Mulder, what is it?" Scully couldn't recognize the look in his eyes and it was throwing her off.

"If it were possible to do another round of IVF..."

Scully sucked in a harsh breath. This was not at all what she was even thinking was in the realm of possibility for him to bring up.

"... would you want to?" He glanced back and forth between her eyes, trying to figure out if he had overstepped his bounds or not.

"But… Mulder, how?" Scully was confused.

He took a big breath. "If you want to try again… with the eggs that are left from the vial that I found… then I want us to."

She shook her head, biting back the tears that were springing forth just from thinking about it. "No, Mulder… It's too expensive! I almost broke my savings account just trying to pay for the first try."

"Scully," he pleaded, hands tightening around her own subconsciously. "I know how expensive it is. What I'm asking is… if there was nothing else standing in your way… would you want to try again?"

"Yes," she hissed quietly, finally losing control over the build-up of liquid in her eyes. The tears rolled down heavily.

"Then let's try, Scully." He let go of one of her hands in order to tip her chin up to look at him. "Let's try. Don't worry about the money. I'll handle it."

"Mulder, I can't ask you to do that," she choked out.

He pulled her closer, wrapping her small form up in his arms. "That's the thing, Scully," he talked into her hair as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. "You're not asking me. I'm offering. I want this too, Scully. I want this with you. I always have. And if we can try again- if you _want_ to try again- then I think we should."

Scully let out a small sob and moved her arms out from between them and snaked them around his stomach.

"And if it doesn't work… then we'll be here to help each other get through it. We can look at other options, too. There are so many orphans out there, Scully. We could give a few of them a good home." He suddenly lost confidence in himself. He added quickly, "If- if that's what you want, Scully. And if you don't want to do the IVF again, that's fine, too. I can't even imagine how hard that was for you to go through. All of the hormone injections and doctor's appointments… and for something that wasn't anywhere close to being a sure shot."

Silence.

"I know what you're thinking," he quavered. "You're thinking that I'm only offering to do this because we're… whatever we are now… but I'm not. Scully, I wanted it when I said yes. I wanted to have that with you. And it hurt like hell when it didn't take, but I wasn't sure if the pain was something that I was supposed to have been feeling. We never really talked about what my role was going to be beside the doner… but _dammit,_ Scully! I want it! I want it _all_ with you. If you'll have me."

She couldn't say anything. Not yet. She needed to get her emotions under control first. Mulder didn't seem to mind. He just held her quietly and let her cry herself out, not even noticing his own tears that were slowly leaking out of his eyes and into her hair.

After what seemed like forever, Scully was finally able to gather herself enough to speak. She rubbed her face back and forth over the front of his sweater. It was a good thing that she wasn't currently wearing makeup. She'd look like a trainwreck. "Mulder, Mulder, Mulder," she chanted under her breath.

Mulder waited as she stood there silently, with her head buried in his chest. She let out a small sound that made his heartbeat rush. She said _yes_. Maybe he imagined it. "What? What did you say, Scully?" He took her face in his hands.

"Yes, Mulder. Yes." She said through squished lips. "I want it all with you, too- have from the beginning. I want to try again."

"Oh, Scully," he gushed, moving his arms under her own so he could pick her up off the ground, closer to him.

She let her feet dangle, while she wrapped her arms around his neck, hands coming to rest in his hair. Her fingers sifted through the hair on the back of his head. The biggest smile broke out over her face.

He could feel her lips widening against his cheek. It was infectious. "Thank you, Scully." He felt his throat tighten with emotion.

She giggled. "For what? I should be thanking you..."

"For saying yes… For loving me… For giving me a chance." Mulder let her feet drop back down to the ground. He pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. "God, I love you so much."

"Mulder?"

"I love you, too. This is- you are- the best present anyone has ever given me." She concluded her statement with a sniffle.


	10. Epilogue

**A/N: Once again, apologizing to the huge mix up with chapters on the last update. Lol that was a mess, but I fixed it as soon as I saw it! I'm going to stick with my old method of posting immediately as I write instead of stocking up on chapters haha. Yeah, so I couldn't come up with a good next step for this story, and considering that it was supposed to be a shorter, holiday fic… I've decided to end it here with an epilogue. Don't worry though! I'll still be updating Second Chances when I can, as well as writing up some one-shots that I've been wanting to do for a while(: p.s. to the quest that reviewed with a request: you have been heard.**

"Hey, Scully?" Mulder called her attention away from the case file that she was going over on the other side of the desk. "What time do we need to leave here, again?" he asked when her eyes met his.

"Eleven," she replied, trying to focus her attention back on the file. If she let her mind wander, she'd never make it through the next three hours until they got to leave. After a few minutes of silence, she noticed a card slide under the file on the desk. She set the file down and looked at it, avoiding Mulder's puppy dog look. "Mulder, what's this? You already told me happy birthday this morning."

"No, I didn't."

"Well, you showed me, at least." She could tell he was smirking.

"Scully, that doesn't count and you know it."

He paused for a second, making her suspicious. He was up to something.

"I could live forever with my head between yo-"

She practically flew over the desk in order to clamp a hand over his mouth.

It just made his grin bigger.

"No."

His words were muffled and intelligible in her hand and she was glad for it. He let out a long whining sound at the end that she figured was probably her name. Suddenly, he licked her palm in order to get her to draw her hand away.

"Really, Mulder?"

"What?" He shrugged with that devious smile still gracing his lips.

"Can I open my card now?"

He nodded wordlessly.

Scully picked up the card. The front had a cartoon depiction of the inside of an airplane. There was a green alien talking to the man sitting next to him. In a word bubble, the alien said, "Watch out if I doze off. I sleep probe." Scully couldn't help but let out a small laugh. It was perfect for them.

"I, uh- couldn't find one with a grey alien..." Mulder leaned back in his chair.

Scully kept looking down at the card. "It's funny… I know someone else that sleep probes..." she deadpanned. When she slyly glanced upward at him, still not moving the position of her head, she bit her lip in victory at Mulder's expression of fake offense.

"I. Do. Not!" he guffawed overdramatically.

She ignored him, choosing instead to open up the card and read what was on the inside. The line on the inside was mediocre and insignificant, but what Scully was paying attention to was what Mulder had written.

 _Happy Birthday, Scully! Look, I remembered just in time for another dog year. I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you, but in case you don't, I'm going to be spending the rest of my life proving it to you, so be prepared._

 _Love, Mulder._

 _P.S. Thank you for being you._

"Oh, Mulder." Scully got up and went to give him a hug. "Thank you. I love the card."

They were interrupted by the phone ringing. It was Skinner's secretary calling to tell them that they had their weekly meeting in ten minutes.

After they hung up the phone, Mulder held out his hand and walked toward the door, "C'mon, birthday girl. Let's go get this over with."

§§§

"Dana Scully?" the nurse of the fertility clinic called Scully and Mulder back out of the waiting room.

They followed her back to an examination room. The nurse pointed to the inclined table with stirrups and handed Scully a gown. Today was the day that they were going to do an examination on Scully in order to get the go-ahead to schedule an implantation. She had already come in last week to get her bloodwork done so the office could process it and analyze her hormone levels.

"The doctor will be with you in a moment," the nurse said as she walked out the door.

"Well, gee. She was a chatterbox," Mulder joked sarcastically.

Scully changed quickly and hopped onto the examination table, choosing not to put her feet in the stirrups until she absolutely had to.

The doctor- a tall grey hair man who was quite lean- came in sometime later, eyes glued to Scully's papers that he had in his hands. He looked up once he shut the door. "Hello, Dana. Hello Mr. Mulder." he greeted them kindly. There was an odd look in his eye.

Scully picked up on it immediately. The tension felt like it raised a thousand degrees in intensity. "What is it?"

"Dana, after this appointment we're going to have to transfer you to a different office." The doctor looked like he was holding something back.

Mulder sat down and glanced at Scully. She reached out for his hand and he took it.

The doctor continued. "Well, I want to check you out first, but unless there's been a mistake in the lab… we're not going to be able to do the implantation, Dana."

All of the color drained out of Scully's face. Mulder's hand gripped hers tightly. "Why not?" she retorted somewhat aggressively. The hormone injections that she'd been taking over the past few months have made her mood swings intense.

"I want to do an ultrasound, to double check… but Dana..." The doctor gave up on trying to explain it to them. He knew that she'd just demand to see the lab work anyway, no matter how much the results have flustered him. He handed it over and watched as Scully's eyes narrowed as she scanned the paper, and then widen she connected the dots. "I can't be!" Her voice denoted how sceptical she was.

"Well, Dana. That's why I want to double check."

"What? What is it?" Mulder was completely lost. He wasn't a doctor. The paper made no sense to him.

"Mulder, I might already be pregnant..." Scully's voice was riddled with her disbelief. After she read the results one more time she looked over at Mulder. "My hormone levels are akin to what they would be during the first trimester..."

He had a dazed, yet proud look on his face.

She rolled her eyes. "Can we do the ultrasound _now_?" she addressed the doctor, unable to keep the hope out of her voice.

"We sure can." He immediately began to set up the equipment. After he was done, he handed her a sheet to hold onto and he placed it over her legs. "I don't want to risk anything by doing a transvaginal ultrasound like we would normally do, so let's have you pull up your gown so I can use the wand on your stomach."

Scully did as she was told, squealing at the feeling of the cold gel that he began to put on her belly.

Mulder stayed quiet, leaning down every so often to kiss her forehead tenderly or rub a hand through her hair. They never let go of their joined hands.

The doctor ran the wand over her stomach for so long that Scully was beginning to lose her faith in hoping for a miracle. A few seconds after she began to mentally prepare herself for disappointment, the wand picked up a second heartbeat. It raced alongside the much slower pace of her own.

"Oh, my God!" Scully gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Oh, my God! Mulder!"

Mulder felt tears appear in his eyes. "Wow," he mumbled, eyes transfixed on the screen.

The doctor pressed a few buttons and measured the fetus. He made sure to point it out to them before clicking the print button on the machine. "Based off of your hormone levels and the size of the baby… Dana, I'd say you conceived somewhere around the time of New Year."

Mulder threw a saucy smirk Scully's way.

She blushed at the memory of how they celebrated on New Year's Eve and tugged her shirt back down over her belly after the doctor wiped off the gel.

The doctor gathered his things and made his way over to the door. "You're going to need to see your OBGYN from now on, Dana. Congratulations. You guys can leave whenever you're ready."

After he was gone, Scully threw her legs over the side of the table and yanked Mulder towards her. He enveloped her in a tight hug, one which she gladly reciprocated. A lone tear slipped down her cheek unnoticed.

"Guess my boys have superpowers, huh?" Mulder spoke into her hair.

"Mulder," she chided. "Shut up and kiss me."

He pressed his against hers with a new kind of heat. It felt different from all of their other kisses that they've shared in the past few months. "Hey, Scully?" Mulder said as he pulled away to rest his forehead against her, their noses brushing together ever so lightly. "Happy birthday."


End file.
